1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to social networking interactive shopping systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a social networking interactive shopping system having consumer loyalty features, consumer behavior modeling and prediction features, and a portable consumer user interface for consumer access to the system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Shopping carts of the past have merely been mechanical, passive devices, capable of assisting transport of goods from the store aisles to the checkout station. Even where a LCD display and supporting video hardware have been added in order to display advertisements to the shopper, the traditional shopping cart is still a passive device. Indeed, the merchant runs the risk of alienating his customers by merely adding display hardware to his shopping carts and bombarding the shoppers with unsolicited advertisements without providing any benefit or reward to the shoppers. It would be desirable to make the shopping cart interactive. Moreover, it would be desirable to eliminate the requirement to queue up into a check out line when purchasing store items.
Thus, a social networking interactive shopping system solving the aforementioned problems is desired.